Bob Ainsworth: With effect from 1 April 2008 the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) and the Defence Medical Education and Training Agency (DMETA) will cease to have the status of executive agencies of the Ministry of Defence.
	DASA was established as an executive agency in 1993 to provide professional analytical, economic and statistical services and advice to the Department, and defence-related statistics to Parliament, other Government Departments and the public. The case for a change in status arises primarily from its developing role in supporting the exploitation of the substantial information resource which new departmental systems will provide. For the Department to fully exploit the additional value of these new systems it will have to adopt a more co-ordinated, cross-MOD approach than previously. DASA's ability to play its foil role in these future developments will require greater flexibility of role and responsibility than is compatible with agency status.
	DMETA was established in 2003, as part of the Defence Medical Services. Its principal objective has been to make available secondary care personnel for deployments who are medically educated and trained, to meet military operational requirements. The agency has also taken on additional roles, beyond its original mission, in the delivery of secondary and tertiary healthcare and operational capability at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre. As part of planned improvements to the structure of the defence medical services, we have decided to subsume DMETA's roles within a new joint medical command (JMC), which will be formed on 1 April. The JMC's wider role will in due course make it responsible for the delivery of all joint medical services, including joint medical and dental outputs, force generation, healthcare acquisition, training and education. We are planning for the JMC HQ, which will be established initially at Fort Blockhouse, Gosport, the current home of the DMETA HQ, to be re-located to Whittington Barracks, Lichfield as part of the Midland Medical Accommodation project.

David Miliband: FCO Services today becomes a trading fund of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Mr Christopher Moxey was appointed as chief executive when FCO Services became an executive agency in April 2006 and will continue in that role for the FCO Services trading fund. The necessary statutory instrument comes into effect today (SI 2008/590).
	FCO Services is our in-house support organisation, delivering key services to enable our global network to function efficiently. It protects our staff, buildings and communications from the wide variety of threats they continually face in many parts of the world and has particular expertise in secure logistics, secure IT and in the security of buildings. It is already a substantial business employing nearly 1000 staff and with an estimated turnover of around £125 million in 2007-08.
	As an executive agency FCO Services has made real progress in customer satisfaction, internal efficiency and financial performance. I am now moving it to trading fund status where the additional commercial disciplines and freedoms will enable it to enhance service delivery and innovation and improve overall value for money. FCO Services will remain part of the FCO as a trusted partner under our overall strategic direction. The FCO will be assured of a continuing reliable supply of vital support services.
	At the same time we will ensure that all the services FCO Services provides will be regularly tested and benchmarked for value for money; FCO Services will be encouraged to increase business with non-FCO customers, enabling it to finance its own investment plans and deliver economies of scale to the FCO. The more arms-length management arrangement will free up FCO resources to focus on the Government's strategic priorities abroad. This move is in the best interests of the FCO, the Government and the taxpayer.
	In his written ministerial statement of 18 March, my noble Friend, Lord Malloch-Brown, announced a set of key targets for FCO Services in 2008-09 to encourage the creation of a stable business and improvements in performance. FCO Services will report to Parliament on its success against these targets in its 2008-09 annual report.
	Copies of the new framework document covering FCO Services' role and responsibilities will be placed in the Library of the House. A copy will also be available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at: www.fco.gov.uk.